Facebook Messenger is a popular means of communicating, but the Mac doesn’t have a dedicated Facebook messaging app like the iPhone or Android does… or does it!?! Indeed, you can use Facebook Messenger to message friends from OS X, and in moments you can set up the Mac Messages app to function as a Facebook Messenger client in OS X.
Using Facebook Messenger from the Mac is really quite simple, but it’s entirely separate from configuring Facebook sharing from the Mac, so if you have done one but not the other, you’d need to complete both to have the full Facebook functions of sharing, posting, and messaging available to you in OS X.
This basically turns your Messages app into a full fledged Mac Facebook Messenger client, you’ll be set up in just a few seconds with these instructions:
If you’re on a Mac, the ability to have Facebook Messenger conversations right in the Messages app of OS X is really quite nice, the conversations will appear alongside other text messages and iMessages, Google Chat, Yahoo Messenger, or AOL / AIM communications.
Once you have Facebook Messenger added to Messages, you will be automatically logged into Facebook Messenger when the Messages app opens. To log out of Facebook Messenger in Messages, simply pull down the “Messages” menu item and choose “Log out of chat.facebook.com” – similarly, you can log in that way as well.
You can access the Facebook Friends buddy list at any time from the “Windows” menu item in Messages app, where you can also set your status to be online or offline, or away.
This certainly beats having a web browser window open to Facebook.com on a Mac, and if you have set up Facebook posts and sharing in OS X you now have much of the Facebook functionality right in OS X without having to go to the website to talk to friends, share stuff, or post status updates.
What if you don’t have Messages for OS X? All modern Macs should, but if you’re using an older version of Mac system software that has the iChat app instead, don’t worry, you can also use Facebook chat in iChat too.
The configuration and setup process is a little bit different, but the protocol is the same as is the ability to have a full conversation with your Facebook buddies. So, whatever your version of OS X on whatever your Mac, you’ll be Facebooking. Good for you. And no, if Facebook has been blocked on the network or hosts file, this will not bypass it.
It’s important to be able to keep in contact with your friends and family on a regular basis. Gone are the days of needing to remember a phone number, especially if you are on a social media platform like Facebook.
With Facebook Messenger, it’s easier than ever to start a chat with just about anyone, although you were stuck in the browser.
That’s no longer the case as the Facebook Messenger for MacBook application has been released to everyone.
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Now that it’s is finally here on the Mac, you don’t need to worry about keeping the browser open anymore. In order to get the Facebook Messenger on your MacBook, here’s what you’ll need to do:
After the app has been downloaded, it will be available on your Mac. You can access it by opening Launchpad, browsing the Applications section in Finder, or by searching for it with spotlight. Just open the app, let it load for the first time, and enter your Facebook username and password.
You will be taken to your default browser to complete the verification of logging into Facebook Messenger for the first time. This is just a standard procedure, and will likely be helpful if you don’t happen to know your Facebook password off-hand.
Facebook really pulled out most of the stops with this new app for Mac and Windows users. With your iPhone, iPad, or the web version, you are able to customize various aspects of Messenger. There was some concern that these features would be missing in a standalone app, but that’s not the case.
In the Facebook Messenger for MacBook app, you can customize a few options./article-new/2019/11/macos-mojave-imessage-setup-screen.jpg?lossy)
These include the color of the chat bubbles, what the default emoji is, and you have the ability to set or change nicknames. Here’s how you can do so:
As many of us are already aware, macOS Catalina gives users to change the overall “appearance” of apps. This is essentially toggling Dark Mode for the system, but some applications allow you to turn Dark Mode on or off specifically.
With Facebook Messenger, you have a few different options. Here’s how to access the Appearance Settings panel:
This will present you with an all-new menu panel that you have not yet seen. There are a few different options here, but you’ll want to do the following:
Those looking for Light Mode, will want to select Light. Those looking for Dark Mode, will want to select Grey. But if you want something like an OLED dark mode, which is when the UI is black instead of dark grey, select Dark. And then finally High Contrast adds some additional colors around various aspects to help them standout. If you keep Mirror System Preferences selected, whenever your Mac goes into Dark Mode, Messenger will switch to Grey.
If it’s time to settle down and get some work done, you don’t need a bunch of notifications going off. This can really get out of hand if you have a group chat with a a bunch of people in it, all with something to say. Thankfully, Facebook has made it easy to manage and tame your notifications.
From here, you are presented with Do not Disturb, Show previews, and Notification sounds. There are toggles for all three, if you want to fine-tune which notifications come through. But what if you want to control the notifications from just a single person or group chat?
Another panel will appear giving you the following choices:
Once you have made your selection, click Confirm and you won’t receive notifications from that person or group. And if you want to unmute those notifications before the time select, just right-click on the conversation and select Unmute Notifications.
In the same vein as keeping your notifications managed, you can deter folks from messaging you by being “inactive”. This lets your friends know that you aren’t online, so they may hold back on sending that meme at the wrong time. Here’s how to set your Active Status.
It doesn’t matter whether you and your friends have a meme-dedicated chat or if you get some pictures from family. These get sent on a regular basis, and there are times where you’ll want to go back and look at what was sent. You can do so right from the Facebook Messenger on MacBook app.
Then, you can scroll through and view any of the pictures or videos that have been sent in the message thread. You can even forward these to other people in Messenger if you want to share something that was previously sent to you.
Sometimes you’ll need to download messages, but it’s not as simple as pressing a button. That is, if you need to save the text portion of your messages. When it comes to saving images or videos, you can do so easily right from the app.
The image will automatically be saved to your Downloads folder on the Mac. If you want to save a picture or video that was just sent, right-click on it, and select Save to Downloads. This will put that image or video right in your Downloads folder.
As for the text portion of your message threads, the best way to “download” these messages is to take screenshots.
This can be cumbersome and time-consuming, but could end up being worth it in the long-run. We hope to see some more controls from Facebook in the future, but we’ll have to wait and see.
When we first heard that a Facebook Messenger app was coming to the Mac, we were a bit surprised. Then, the more you think about it, the more it made sense especially when so many other messaging platforms have dedicated desktop apps.
It seems that Facebook really took its time developing this app, as you have just about all of the same features as the web client. We are hoping that Facebook sticks with development and brings new features and options to the app in the future.
Let us know if you have any questions about the Facebook Messenger on MacBook app and we’ll try to help!
Andrew Myrick
Andrew is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US.
He has written for a variety of sites over the years, including iMore, Android Central, Phandroid, and a few others.
Now, he spends his days working for an HVAC company, while moonlighting as a freelance writer at night.
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Using Facebook Messenger from Mac is actually quite simple, but it is completely different from setting up Facebook Messenger from Mac, so if you did one and not the other, you need to complete both to have full Facebook sharing, publishing and messaging features available to you in OS X.
This basically turns your Messages app into a full Mac Facebook Messenger client, in a few seconds you can install the following instructions:
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If you're on a Mac, the ability to chat on Facebook Messenger right in the OS X Messages app is really nice, conversations will appear alongside other text messages and iMessages, Google Chat, Yahoo Messenger, or AOL/AIM.
When you add Facebook Messenger to Messages, you will be automatically logged into Facebook Messenger when the Messages app opens. To log out of Facebook Messenger in Messages, simply pull down the "Messages" menu item and select "Log out of chat.facebook.com" - similarly, you can log in as well.
You can access the list of friends of friends of Facebook friends at any time from the Windows menu item in the Messages application, where you can also set the status to online or offline or offline.
This certainly means that a web browser window is open for Facebook.com on a Mac, and if you installed Facebook messages and sharing in OS X, you now have most of the Facebook features right in OS X, without the need go to the site to chat with friends, share content or update the status of a post.
What if you don't have messages for OS X? All modern Macs should, but if you're using an older version of the Mac software that has the iChat app, don't worry, you can also use Facebook Chat in iChat.
The setup and setup process is slightly different, but the protocol is the same, as is being able to fully chat with your Facebook friends. So, no matter what version of OS X you have on any Mac you have, you will be Facebook. Lucky you. And no, if Facebook is blocked on the network or hosts file, this will not bypass it.
Facebook Messenger is a popular way to communicate, unfortunately there is no dedicated Facebook messaging app in Mac OS like iPhone or Android does. Indeed, you can use Facebook Messenger to send messages to friends from OS X, and in a moment, you can set up the Mac Messages app to act as a Facebook Messenger client on OS X. According to leaked photographic evidence and an eyewitness account, Facebook has been working on an as-yet undisclosed the Facebook Messenger desktop app for Mac. A photo leaked online showing a Facebook employee using the app, which showed the social media giant is working on making an official Facebook Messenger app on MAC.
Before the release of the official Facebook Messenger app for Mac OS, a leaked image shows that Facebook is working on the project. If a leaked blurry photo is appropriate, the official Facebook Messenger app for Mac can make it easier for people to chat when they're on their PC or laptop. Instead of diving into one of the many web browser tabs that users have to switch to to send messages to friends, a dedicated Messenger desktop app will be instantly available from the Dock.
The social media giant refused to provide a statement or confirmation and said: "We do not comment on rumors or speculation." Facebook is building a private chat SDK that allows developers to build chatbots. The more people interact on Facebook, the more they are tied to the company's line of apps and features, including the Facebook News Feed, where they earn money from ads.
The photo above shows an employee working on the Facebook Messenger app on Mac OS, which includes a navigation tab bar in the lower left corner.
It matches the tab bar options in the official Messenger for iOS mobile app, which includes a Recents, Groups, People, and Settings menu. A leaked report states that unofficial versions do not have this tab bar.
Using Facebook Messenger from a Mac is actually quite simple, but it's completely separate from setting up Facebook sharing from a Mac. However, if you're running OS X Yosemite , you can use the Facebook Messages app to alternate Facebook chat. Basically, it turns your Messages app into a full-fledged Mac Facebook Messenger client. Here is a detailed guide on how to use the Facebook Messenger app on your Mac OS X using the Messages app.
Step 1: Open the Messages app in the Finder or dock. From the message drop-down menu, select "Add Account".
Step 2: When you select Add Account, you will notice that you can add a Google, Yahoo, or AOL account.
On the message account screen, you need to select the last option, "Other Message Account" . Just select the option to continue.
Step 3: You will get a screen where you need to enter all the credentials for your messaging account.
Step 4: From the drop-down menu, select Jabber in Account Type. In the "Account Name" section, enter your Facebook ID followed by @chat.facebook.com. [email protected]
Step 5: Enter your Facebook password and then press "Create".
Step 6: If you don't know your Facebook ID, you can find it by simply logging into your account, where you can find it in the address bar. Your user ID will be located as shown below:
Step 7: After you click Create, your Facebook friends will appear in your Friends list.
You can also click "Add" in the main menu and select Friends to find the list again.
Step 8: Just select a friend who is online and send a message to anyone on the list, as usual, conversations go through Facebook Messenger.
Step 9: If you're using a Mac, being able to chat on Facebook Messenger right in the OS X Messages app is really great, conversations will show up next to other text messages and iMessages, Google Chat, Yahoo Messenger, or AOL/AIM messages.
Step 10: Once the Facebook Messenger app has been added to Messages, you will be automatically logged into Facebook Messenger when you launch the Messages app.
Step 11: Then you can log out of Facebook Messenger in Messages, from the drop-down menu of Messages, select "Log out of chat.facebook.com". Later, you can log in in the same way.
That's it, these are the simple steps to use the Facebook Messenger app on Mac OS X using the Messages app.
